Male orangutans plan their travel route up to a day in advance and communicate it to other orangutans, research indicates.
Anthropologists at the University of Zurich found that wild-living orangutans make use of the planning ability to attract females and repel male rivals.
We often think of the ability to plan for the future as a uniquely human attribute. Recent studies have suggested that our primate cousins might be able to plan for certain occasions, as well (like the mischievous chimp who stockpiled stones that he could later hurl at zoo visitors) but whether they use this ability in the wild is harder to show. A new study from the Anthropological Institute and Museum at the University of Zurich indicates that wild great apes do, in fact, plan hours in advance, and announce their plans to their friends.
Anthropologist Carel va Shaik tracked the ability of male orangutans to plan their travels in Indonesia through what's called a "long call," a spontaneous cry certain males—the ones that develop large cheek pads, called flanged males—emit throughout the day. "It’s a very loud booming vocalization that lasts up to four minutes—usually one to two—that goes like woop woop woop. We call them pulses." These male orangutans call in the direction they plan to travel up to a day in advance, he found, with the flanges acting like nature's bullhorn to focus the call in one direction.
For many years, zoos have used water moats to confine chimpanzees, gorillas or orangutans. When apes ventured into deep water, they often drowned. Some argued that this indicated a definitive difference between humans and apes: people enjoy the water and are able to learn to swim, while apes prefer to stay on dry land.
Renato Bender from the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg and Nicole Bender from the University of Bern have studied a chimpanzee and an orangutan in the United States.
Orangutans, as one of the more well known great apes of the world, have been popular as pop icons, with countless orangutan characters playing integral roles in the development of storylines and plots.
From the wizard/librarian-turned-orangutan in the Discworld series by award-winning author Terry Prachett, to the spotlight focused on an orangutan character in Babe: Pig In The City, orangutans are also quite popular as plushie toy collections and other forms of child-friendly merchandise products, with such items drawing inspiration from their popularity as mainstream media characters.
Only found in Asia, orangutans are known for being one of the more intelligent ape species in the world, with researchers and scientists noting how wild orangutans actually use tools and other implements in getting tasks and chores done. Also known for their learning abilities, the orangutan’s capacity to take on “tests” and “challenges” have piqued the interests of different experts for years, along with their actual capacity to have distinct individual personalities.
Defined by their reddish-hued coats, the orangutan’s physical attributes define them as arboreal creatures, spending most of they days up on the canopies of trees. Contrary to most assumptions, they are quite docile but their strength does allow them to inflict serious injury when they are provoked.
Considered to be the most solitary of all the known great apes, orangutans are truly marvelous creatures, whose intelligence and unique physique have made them the target of different poachers and illegal animal trade.
Given the fact that they are only found in Asia, they stand to be at risk of going extinct, should any more damage to their natural habitats be done.
Anthropologists at the University of Zurich found that wild-living orangutans make use of the planning ability to attract females and repel male rivals.
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